Air valve



Jan. 15 1924. A1,430,608

c. w. GARDNER AIR VALVE Filed April 17 1922 In Sheets-Sheet l Patented Jan. 15, 1924.

UNITED 4srari?.s PATENT olf-"Fier-1.l

cHARLEsW. GARDNER, DEoEiisEngy LATE oEAUsTIN, TExAs;.BY ELIZABETHE GARD- NER, EXECUTEIX, or" AUSTIN,` TEXAS.

AIR VALVE.

Application ledfApril' 17, 1922;l Serial No; 554,316;

To all 'whom it may concern.'

Be it known that CHARLES W. GARDNER5 deeeased,.formerly a-citizen of the United States, residing'at Austin, in the county of 5 Travis and State of Texasg'invented a new and useful Air Valve, of which the following is a speciiication.

Thisinvention.relatesfto an air valve designed primarily for useinfconnection With internal combustion enginesV although itcan be used efficiently. in connectionwith coinpressors ofi air, gas or liquid,y or any other machines requiring a quick acting.y and efficient valve.

One of the objects ofthe invention is Yto provide a f light and strong .valve lWhich does not require. a stem and." a" guide, both of which are suhjeetto rapid Wear.

Another` obj ect .is to provide a valve which Will not ham-merand which, yby reason ofits peculiar construction, will not tend to buckle the material of Which the valve is constructed.

Another-'object is to provide ay valve the 25 movable portion of Whichiis capable of fiexing alongstra'ight lines so that the life/of the valve is 'greatly prolonged as compared With any valve which tends to crinkle or buckle when flexed; j I

Another Objectis to provide avalve which While capableof flexing readily tofmeet all requirements, is not ohjectionably limber but has a steady action tending/tol overcome rapid vibration or fiuttering With the foregoing and other objects in view which willy appearf asthe description proceeds,the inventionresidesin the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details yof construction :hereinafter described 40 andfclaimedi it ybeinguunderstoodthan within the-scope of what is claimed,` changes in the. precise embodiment ofl the invention shown can be madewithout departing from the spirit ofthe inventions` In the`r accompanyingdrawings the preferred forms ofl theinvention have been shown. y

In said draWings-- Figure' 1l isa sectionthrou'gh asportion of an linternal lcombi'istioni engine and 'showing the air inlet valve in position.

Figure 2 is a face View of the valve. Figure 3 1S a. side elevation" thereof.

Figure 4T. is a" section onv line @3f-Fig# spacer usedin Figure 7.

Referring to the iig'uresbyy characters of" reference l designates a portion' of` an internal combustion engine providedwithopposed arcuate air intake ports 2 adaptedto be closed normally by the valve'constituting the present invention. A

\ In the form of valve shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4 there is provided'a split fiat ring 3 of spring metal Which can be suitably treated to prevent it from rusting or corroding. For example ifi the ring is of' hard rolled sheetsteel it may be coatedWith cop# per, tin, lead or other suitable' material. The ring and the ports are concentrievvith the same axis and there is mounted on one end portion of the ring 3 a spacer 4 theo'utei" edge of Whichiis close'to the corresponding edge of thering 3.While the inner" edge is f tangent to the -circle defined bythe inner edge of the ring', as shown'at 5, one end-of the spacer' being preferablyA radiallydisposed relative tothe axis ofthe infner circle of the ring.

It will be noted by, referringparticularly to Figure 2' that the inner and outerf edges of the ring 3 are' not concentric andv that Whilelv the inner circleof the ring i's concentrio With the axis about whichv the portsffl arefoimed, the outer circle ofthe ring. is eccentrically disposed with respect to# said axis so thatthe endportions of therring are thus Wide'i than the` intermediate:.portionsi Forthe purpose oflirniting the movement of the valve ring 3-awayfrom the ports 2 there is provided an arcuate stopystrip 6 mounted at one enden thefspacerifwhile its other end extends a desired distance/over the. ring3 and isfpreferablyqslightly out-` turned as shown at-7. One end of this` stop can be projected beyond thespacer 4 to proivide avmeans for limiting. the movementof thefree end of thek ringr3, thispjrojecting portionor stopl'being. indicated `at8.`A

The stop is held in place in any suitable manner, as by means of screws 9 extending therethrough and through the spacer 4 and one end portion of the ring 3. All of the parts are thus held properly assembled.

It Will be apparent that by providing a valve such as has been described the same can open readily and during each flexing yof the valve it Will bend along straight lines substantially parallel with the straight edge 5 of the spacer 4. Thus there is no tendency of the valve to buckle and, consequently, it Will last much longer than should a buckling action take place. The stop 6 serves properly to limit the movement of the ring 3 when moved away from the ports 2, thus preventing excessive lift Without interfering with the flow of or tilting the air.

Obviously different kinds of stops can be used for limiting the movement of the valve. Instead of providing the arcuate stop shown in Figure 2, spaced stop brackets 10 can be positioned to lap the ring 3 at different points as shown in Figures 5 and 6. With this arrangement the spacer 4 Will remain exposed and the bolts or screws 9 are used solely for fastening the ring and the spacer 4 to the engine. lith this arrangement the spacer does not act as such but merely provides a straight edge 5 along Which the valve ring can bend or flex during the action thereof. It will be noted by referring particularly to Figure 4 that the straight edge 5 of the part 4 is undercut or rounded at 11 thus to present a proper bearing surface for the valve ring 3 When flexing.

In Figure 8 there has been shown a conibined stop and spacer formed in one piece, thusv simplifying the structure heretofore described. In this modified construction there 'is provided a substantially arcuate strip 12 having an intermediate offset portion 13. This modified form of stop is adapted to be mounted on one end portion of the ring 14 so that the offset portion la will rest on the ring and be fastened thereto and to the engine structure by bolts 15 extending therethrough. One end portion of the stop Will extend over a part of the ring 14 While the other end of the stop will lap one of the free ends of the ring. While this construction Will operate efliciently for a certain time, it does not possess the advantages of the structure shown in Figures 1 to 6 because of the tendency of the ring 14 to buckle or crinkle Where flexed adjacent its point of connection with the offset portion 13 of the stop. By making the inner and outer margins of the valve rings eccentric as shown in Figure 5 the bending line along the straight edge 5 of the spacer 4 is materially lengthened and the strength of the ring is thus correspondingly increased. Furthermore a much broader bearing is provided at the free end of the sph;` ring than Would be obtained should the inner and outer margins of the ring be concentric.

VVhatis claimed is 1. An air valve comprising a flat resilient split ring, fastening means secured on one end portion of the ring and providing a bending edge tangent to the inner edge of the ring.

2. An air valve including a flat resilient split ring having eccentrically disposed innerand outer margins, and attaching means secured on the ring near one end thereof and providing a straight bending edge for the ring tangent to the inner margin of the ring.

3. An air valve including a flat resilient ring having its inner and outer margins eccentrically disposed, said ring being split in the Wide portion thereof, fastening means secured on one end of the ring and having a straight bending edge on the wide portion of the ring and tangent to the inner edge thereof.

4. An air valve including a flat resilient ring having its inner and outer margins eccentrically disposed to provide a broad portion, said ring being split radially Within the broad portion, attaching means secured on the broad portion of the ring and providing a straight bending edge tangent to the inner circle of the ring, that portion of said edge adjacent the ring being undercut.

5. An air valve including a flat resilient ring having its inner and outer margins eccentrically disposed to provide a broad portion said ring being split radially Within the broad portion, attaching meanssecured on the broad portion of the ring and providing a straight bending edge tangent to the inner circle of the ring, that portion of said edge adjacent the ring being undercut, and a stop lapping the ring to limit its lift.

6. An air valve including a flat resilient ring having its inner and outer margins eccentrically disposed to pro-vide a broad portion, said ring being split radially Within the broad portion, attaching means secured on the broad portion of the ring and providinga straight bending edge tangent to the inner circle of the ring, that portion of said edge adjacent the ring being undercut, and stops lapping the free end and an iutermediate portion of Athe ring.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as the invention of the said CHARLES W. GARDNER, I have hereto aflixed by signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

' ELIZABETH F. GARDNER, Ea'eoatrz'im of 'Charles W. Gardner, Deceased.

Witnesses:

H. A. D. WHITE, ELLA V. Evnnrrr. 

